Pallet load divider tray



1952 P. A. NEMOEDE PALLET LOAD DIVIDER TRAY Filed June 9. 1950 fnz/en07'' Paul a.j moecze Patented Dec. 2, 1952 PALLET LOAD DIVIDER TRAY PaulA. Nemoede, Keller, Tex., assignor to Container Corporation of America,Chicago, Ill., a

corporation of Delaware Application June 9, 1950, Serial No. 167,159

1 Claim. 1

The present invention relates to a divider tray for pallet loads or thelike, and more particularly to such a divider tray which is reusable,and is collapsible for storage or return for reuse.

While a divider tray according to my invention may take many forms, theillustrative embodiment disclosed herein may be described briefly ascomprising a rectangular panel of substantially the dimensions of thepallet with which it is to be used, there being hinged on each edge ofthe panel a wall member of substantially the same length as the paneledge. Preferably, as in the present instance, the wall members areintegral with the panel. The wall members are so formed that when theyare disposed angularly relative to the panel they extend beyond bothfaces thereof, or in other words the hinge line of each Wall member isintermediate its longitudinal edges. The divider tray in collapsedcondition is substantially flat, with the portions of the Wall memberson one side of the hinge lines overlapping the adjacent margins of thepanel. To avoid overlapping and interference of the wall members in thecollapsed tray, the corners of these portions are cut away at a 45angle, or are otherwise so formed as not to interfere with each other.The tray is erected for use from the collapsed condition merely byswinging the wall members to substantially right angles with the panel,which may then be disposed on the top of a section or layer of the loadwith the portions of the wall members below the panel engaging about thesides of the load section and the wall member portions above the panelin position to engage about the sides of another load section to bedisposed over the first. The tray thus holds vertically stacked sectionsof the load from shifting horizontally relative to each other andprovides a unitary load from a number of separate load parts orsections, Without need for straps or similar bindings, or for crates,cases, or the like to hold the load. After the pallet has been unloaded,the trays may be collapsed for return with the pallet to the point oforigin for use with another load. Important advantages reside in thelightness and strength of the tray, together with its cheapness andreusability. The collapsible construction is another importantadvantage. An important feature is that the divider tray permits theload to be handled intact from the point of shipment not only to itsdestination but to the actual point of use, as for example a particularmachine in a factory. Loading and unloading are simplified and speededby the use of my tray.

One object of the invention is to provide a pallet load divider traycollapsible to substantially fiat condition for storage or shipment andcapable of being quickly erected for use as a common retaining means foradjacent sections of a load. Another object is the provision of acollapsible pallet load divider tray of paperboard or the like which maybe used many times and requires a minimum of space for storage orshipment. A further object is the provision of a collapsible loaddivider tray having a tray panel with wall members hinged on its edgesintermediate their height to project beyond both faces of the panel inerected condition and to lie in substantially the same plane as thepanel in collapsed condition. It is also an object of the invention toprovide a collapsible load divider tray of paperboard or the like whichin set up condition provides a lower portion to telescope over a lowerload section and an upper tray portion to receive an upper load section.Still another object is the provision of a load divider tray of suchconstruction as to cap a lower load section and receive an upper loadsection for rigidifying the load for handling as a unit. A still furtherobject is the provision of a load divider tray with a portion insertiblebetween upper and lower load sections and Walls on the edges of saidportions projecting beyond both faces thereof to engage both loadsections for preventing relative shifting of the sections. It is anadditional object to provide a blank for such a collapsible pallet loaddivider tray.

Other and further objects, advantages and features of the invention willbe apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description,taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a plurality of the divider traysemployed in a pallet load;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a divider tray according to thisinvention, with a part broken away to show the construction moreclearly; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the divider trayin collapsed condition, inverted from the position of Fig. 2.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, there is shown a divider trayll formed of paperboard which comprises a panel ll of rectangular shapeand having wall members [2 integral therewith. Each Wall member ishinged on an edge of the panel I I by means of a hinging portion 13extending from an edge of the wall member to the panel edge and swingingabout a hinge line [4 extending along the panel edge. The portion l3 andwall member [2 are folded along their comv.plained hereinafter.

to the shape of the load sections. .may also have its central portioncut .away,.or

- one or moreof the panel edges.

mon edge to lie in close, substantially parallel relation, and aresecured together by staples l5 adjacent the hinge line. The wall memberI2 has a greater extent transversely of the hinge line H than thehinging portion [3, so that it extends on both sides of the hinge linewhile the hinging portion extends on one side only of the hinge line. aThe Wall member is thus hinged intermediate its width or height to theedge of the panel. The ends it of the portions of the wall members onthe opposite sides of the hinge lines Hi from the hinging portions I3are formed to extend at an angle of 45 to the hinge lines.

The tray It in erected conditioners-shown in Fig. 2 has the wall membersI2'disposedsubstan- L tially perpendicular to the panel ll, thusproviding a dual tray structure with retaining walls extending from bothfaces of the panel, ortwo tray portions each bottomed by the panel II.The tray in may thus be disposed with the panel II .between two partsorsections of a load, and

receive .portions of both load sections to hold themagainst relativeshifting as morefully ex- In collapsed condition of the tray, asshowninFig. .3, the hingingportions .i.3.lie in the plane of the panel I l,and the .wall

-members I2 are disposed substantially parallel to thepanel. Theportions of the wallmembers on the opposite side of thehinge lines Mfromithe .hinging portions l3 overlap themarginal portions; of thepanel. The ends t6 of these wall member portions, by reason of theirangular formation,

.avoidany overlapping of adjacent wall members and permit the wallmembers tolie flat against the panel II. In order to erect or collapsethe tray Ill, it is only necessary .to swing the wall members l2 to thedesired position.

The tray may be. considerably changed in many respects from theparticular embodiment disclosed. The panel ll obviously may be of otherthan rectangular shape, to conformsubstantially The panel otherwise beapertured, todecrease the weight of the tray. Although the wall members.12 are shown as'o-f the same'lengthsas .thepanel-edges on which theyare hinged, this isno-tnecessar-y in every case. More than one wallmemberv may be hinged on one panel edge. .Again,..for specialapplications, wall members may be omittedirom The wall members [2 -maybe otherwise hinged .on .the panel edges than by the integralhingingportions iii. For example, the hinging portion may be integra1only with thepanel and stapled or otherwise secured to the wall member,or-the reverse construction might be used. Again, therhinging portioncan be .separate from both the ,panel .and wall member and suitablysecured to both, in

which case it 'can conveniently take the form of :a strip .or strips ofsuitable tape adhesively secured to the panel and .wall member. The-wallmembers and hinging portions ofvthe :disclosed embodiment may besecured-together by adhesive or other suitable-means instead of 'thestaples I 5,

if desired. The ends it may of course'be-formed otherwise than asdisclosed so as 'to avoid overlapping in collapsed condition of thetray. The .tray maybe inverted. from the position shownin Figs. 1 and 2,if desired. Similarly, the .tray could be collapsed by swinging the wallmembers so that the hinging portions l3 .lieagainst .the panel H, theends of the-portions andwallmember-s being suitably formed so asnottorinterfere Vii vstancesheet metal or plywood, which has sufiicientstrength and yet is relatively light. Details of the tray constructionmay be modified as required by the particular material employed, suchas'the hingin-g of the wall members on the panel. .The operation of thetray H! in the loading of .a, pallet is best explained in connectionwith Fig.

Lin which three of the trays are shown as employed in the arrangement ofa load on a pallet P. Three sections S of the load are shown asvertically stacked on the pallet, each section in this case being madeup of three similar sub-divisions C, which may be cartons, cases,sleeves, or other containersfor the articles or material comprising theload, and which are arranged closely against each other. A conventionalpaperboard'tray T, which maybe collapsible, is disposed on the pallet tocapthe bottom of the bottom section's. One of the trays I0 is disposedover the'top of this bottomsection with the panel I l extendinghorizontally thereover, .and the next'higher load. section is disposedwithits bottom on the panel H. The wallmembers 12 extendupwardlyandjdownwardly irom the panel about the sides of the upper andlower'load sections, which are thus both engaged or received in the dualtray strucbeen packed on-thepalletP. .Then .thetopmost' load section, ifdesired, may be capped by, another tray .T and the pallet with its loadthenmay be moved by a lift truck or the-like to a desired point.

-.One way of applying the .tray is showninFig. 1, inwhich a thirdtray-1.0 isillustrated aspartially applied. One end of the tray panel isdisposed on an end of the'load section with three .of the wall membersat least partially engaged against the sidesof the section, andtheothe'rend .of the tray then swung down intopositiononthe load section. In.applying-the tray, the lower-partsof the ,wall members maybe swungoutwardly so as to avoid any interference from theload, and

after-they have-passed below the-top oftheload section maybepermitted'to swing. automatically ..to-a:position engaging the sides ofthe load secvtion,.by reason of thenatural or inherent resili -enceofthe paperboard.

The tray is easily-made froma simple.blank, therformof which will beclear from Fig. 3, which may be f taken as showing 1 the tray .in-itsoriginal collapsed .oondition when'first formed. A single sheet ofpaperboardis cut to provide agenerally cross-shaped blank which isscoredto-provide :a

rectangular central panel comprising all .of the blank but the. arms.This panel, corresponding to the panel ll of the:tray,isdefined:by thescore lines which serve as thehingelines 14.. s Eacharm of the blankoutwardlyof the central .panel is divided .into .two .panels.corresponding -to the .hinging portion t3 .and wall member I 2, defined.from each other .by-a score line parallel .to the edge of the-central;panel. Tofform thetray from .5 the blank, it is only necessary to foldthe blank on the score lines between the panels corresponding to thewall members l2 and hinging portions 13, so that the wall membersoverlie the hinging portions and the adjacent edge portions of the panelH, as shown in Fig. 3, and then drive the staples 15. The tray may beleft in this collapsed condition for storage or shipment, and set up foruse when desired.

It will be seen that the tray prevents relative shifting of the loadsections engaged by it, for

horizontal movement in any direction of one of the sections relative tothe other is resisted by one or more of the wall members. E'ach wallmember bears on both sections, and because of its hinged. arrangementacts as a lever to react against the force of the load section whichtends to move. In addition, any force applied against the wall membersin one direction is resisted by the opposed wall members through thepanel II, the tray l0 thus being somewhat anelogous to a tie member. Theload sections are therefore held in substantially fixed positionrelative to each other.

The tray of this invention provides a means for combining into a singleunitary load a plurality of load subdivisions or sections whicheliminates any need for crating or encasing the subdivisions orstrapping or otherwise tying them together. Since each pair of adjacentsections is held against shifting and each pair has one section commonto another pair, all the sections are held against shifting,substantially as though they were disposed in a carton or sleeve. Thepallet may easily be loaded, since the load is built up section bysection, the open top of each tray l 0 being readily available andaccesible for deposition of the load components. The loaded pallet maybe moved by a lift truck to or from a suitable vehicle or storage spacewithout the use of any means for securing the load to the pallet. Theload may similarly be moved to the precise point of use of the contentsWithout requiring any pre liminary opening or breaking down of the load.The contents may be unloaded at the point of use by merely lifting thetop capping tray T, removing the contents of the top load section S,then removing the topmost tray I0, and so on. No time is lost in openingthe load, and no tools are needed. After the contents have beenunloaded, the trays in may be collapsed and returned with the pallet andthe trays T for use with another load, requiring a minimum of space.Under ordinary circumstances and with only ordinary care, the trays maybe reused several times.

It should be obvious that the tray is not limited to use with pallets,since it may be used to unify any load of several parts or sections. Thesections themselves may be unitary, or may consist of a plurality ofitems or subdivisions. Although the tray is intended primarily for usewith vertically stacked load sections, it may also be disposedvertically between sections of a load to prevent relative shifting in avertical direction.

From the foregoing, it will be clear that the illustrative embodiment ofthe invention does not exhaust the inventive concept, and that manychanges may be made in the disclosed tray without going beyond the scopeof my invention. It is therefore not intended that the invention belimited otherwise than as required by the appended claim, with dueregard to the spirit as well as the literal wording thereof.

I claim:

A collapsible load divider formed from a single sheet of paperboardmaterial or the like comprising in its collapsed condition asubstantially rectangular panel, inner wall members each hingedly joinedto one edge of said panel and extending outwardly in the plane of saidpanel and outer wall members each hingedly joined to one of said innerwall members, along fold lines parallel to the corresponding edges ofsaid panel, said outer wall members being folded inwardly to overlie thecorresponding inner wall members and being secured to the correspondinginner wall members along lines parallel to and adjacent the panel, saidouter wall members also having portions extending inwardly over saidpanel, said portions having their adjacent sections cut away along linesforming oblique angles to their long edges sufficiently to preventoverlapping thereof, whereby the collapsed load dividers may becompactly stacked during storage and shipment.

PAUL A. NEMOEDE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

